Hear Me

It might be that one of the greatest challenges today is the challenge of wanting to be heard.  Everyone desires to be heard because being heard means you exist and matter.

I know of no one who could care less if they were valued in some way or other.  We long to know that God values us, and we long to be valued by others.  We want our lives to matter on some level or other.

The importance of “hear me” is common to all.

No one wants to sit at a table where they are disregarded.  Most will deduce that they have better things to do with their time.

I will go as far as to say that you cannot show respect to another person until you have demonstrated a willingness to listen to them.

Listening is a demonstration of having an interest in knowing another person’s heart.

Lecturing is not listening.  Thinking of your next response is not listening.  Listening requires being very intentional because its aim is to hear the language of the heart so it can respond accordingly to the heart.  It is connecting at a different level.

Being heard ascribes value to a person like nothing else can.  Just as being ignored can devalue a person and minister rejection to them.

Have you ever sat at a meal with someone who dominated everyone’s time by endless talking?  Was the experience a pleasant one?  Did you go away inspired and eager to do it again?

Jesus asked a question and then answered it,

John 8:43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.

In other words, Jesus says you cannot hear my heart because you are not truly listening to me.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat the fruit of it, Proverbs 18:21.

Until there is a vested interest in what is being said, listening cannot truly occur.  The way to become vested is to work on the motivation for hearing in the first place.  By placing value on whoever it is speaking, we begin to tune our heart ears to what is being said, and we begin to understand in ways that before escaped us.  This is especially important when it comes to God speaking to us.  There needs to be a motivation in us that longs to know His heart and understand what it is He is speaking to us.

In other words, we place a high value on Him as a person, and thus, we give our attention to Him and desire to hear His words with the purpose of better understanding who He is and what He desires.

The law of sowing and reaping operates in the area of our lives just as it does in all others.  If you wish to be heard, learn to hear others, especially God.  Do not be so in love with your own opinion that you become deaf to others and to God.  “Hear Me” is a very important part of our life.  Getting this right can minister health and life.

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It Is Written

We face many things in life, both naturally and spiritually.  When the enemy is hindering us, the way to do away with him is not simply by saying be gone.  The same is true regarding hindrances and situations in the natural.

When Jesus told John to baptize him and gave him the reason for it when Jesus came up out of the water, He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where The devil tempted him. Each time the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus would say it is written.

Jesus knew the word of God and fought the enemy based on it.

I see that, and it causes me to realize how important it is for me to know the word of God and especially what it says regarding me.

Another time, when speaking to His disciples about John the Baptist, Jesus says, “For this is he of whom it is written:”

When Jesus was filled with righteous indignation at the money changers and turned over their tables, He declared, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

When Jesus spoke of His death, He stated, “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him.”

Before the disciples scattered at His betrayal, Jesus said, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

When dealing with the hypocrites, Jesus said, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:  This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”

Jesus often spoke things and acknowledged that it was written in Scripture.  We see Him handling situations and then declaring He did it the way He did because of what was written in the Scriptures.  Yes, He was being led by the Holy Spirit in all of it!  But the Holy Spirit was not denying or contradicting the testimony of the word spoken that applied to the situations.

If Jesus based decisions and handled tough situations and even the enemy based on the word of God, how much more should we discipline ourselves to know the word of the New Covenant Jesus established so that we might fight the good fight of faith by it?

Do you know what is written in the New Testament regarding your relationship with the Father and how it is secured?  Do you know what the Scripture says regarding your work life, marriage, relationship with other believers, or the government you are under wherever you live?  Do you know what it says about your enemy?  How about prayer or life in the Spirit?  Do you know what it says to you as a parent, son, or daughter?  Do you know what it says about money, the value of others, or your calling to be a witness for Christ?

If these things are unknown, one remains ignorant, and ignorance sows bad seed in the soul. The word of truth concerning the New Covenant Jesus established and is now how God is relating with us is of utmost importance for anyone desiring to walk in the victory secured for them at the cross.  I encourage you today to let His word get into you as you get into it.  You will not regret it.

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Catchy Phrases

We live in a time when a catchy phrase is held to be on par with an anointed word.  Social media addictions have heralded the advent of phrasing at a level unlike any other time in history.

The phrase does not have to concur with God’s wisdom as long as it is catchy.  If it is catchy, it can promote stupidity, and no one seems to care.

It reminds me of the music show American Bandstand when I was young. Dick Clark would ask the audience what they thought about a song, and the usual response was, “We like it; it has groove, and you can dance to it.”  No one cared about what the song was saying so long as it had a groove and you could dance to it.

How about this phrase? “Well, ya know, God helps those who help themselves.”  There’s nothing Biblical about that saying, yet to this day, many use it.  The real truth is that “God helps those who cannot help themselves.”

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

There was a time when we were without hope and without God, and there was nothing we could have done about it on our own to remedy it.  God had to act on our behalf and send His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Even the mustard seed of faith required to make us new creations was and is a gift from God.  It’s not like we were that much smarter and more adept than the rest of the human race; therefore, we knew on our own to choose God.

God, in His great mercy, rescued us at just the right time by drawing us to His Son.

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Then Jesus revealed the Father to us. We did not know the Father existed until Jesus revealed Him to us.

Luke 10:22 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

Jesus did not need one-liners to prove His word-handling skills or impress others with catchy phrases.  Jesus spoke the truth and was purposeful with each phrase He spoke to convey the truth.

I am not saying simple phrases are evil.  I am just saying that even though they may be catchy, it doesn’t mean they’re anointed and accurate.  We need to be discerning in such matters.

It is now more important than ever that we feed our minds with good things concerning God and His purpose for our lives.  I encourage you not to be distracted by the latest catchy phrase.  Think about it before you share it with others. It just might be a trigger towards wrong thinking that does no one any real good. Instead, consider letting His word wash your mind and feed your spirit.  It will do you far better, even if it isn’t a catchy phrase that He speaks to you.

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Much More Glorious

When I first married Sheila in 1986, I owned a small blue 1979 model Dodge Colt four-speed manual transmission with a white vinyl top.  I enjoyed that little car, and it served a purpose for a time.

I would say to Sheila that when the day came that she was pregnant with a child, I would trade in that car for a station wagon.  Well, that day arrived sooner than expected because one month after our honeymoon, we discovered she was expecting.  I did exactly what I had said I would do.  I parted with the Dodge Colt and got us a brown Oldsmobile station wagon.

Today, there are those who are still ministering a word that is rooted in a covenant that is obsolete and whose glory faded away long ago.  It is sad to watch when it happens and even more sad to see how many people will flock to such a ministry.

2Corinthians 3:4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

Here, we discover that Paul was committed to the New Covenant ministry, which speaks of better things in Christ Jesus.  Paul was not a teacher of the letter.  He was an imparter of the Spirit.  Paul knew where life flowed from.

I have sat with many over the years and found them struggling over verse 7, where the law is called the ministry of death.  I have even had someone try to tell me they hated it when I referred to the law as the ministry of death.  I had to tell them I was only saying what the Scriptures say.

But notice how verses 8 and 9 really bring into light the reality of the difference between the two covenants.  That old ministry of death has no glory any longer; it had some glory in its day, but that glory has faded away.  It started fading as soon as Moses came down the mountain.

But the New Covenant ministry of the Spirit and life is more glorious, and it moves in ever-increasing glory!

I traded in that Dodge Colt I had because it wouldn’t be able to contain the increase on its way in my life.  It’s time that many handling the word of God today do the same regarding which covenant they will truly represent.  The mixture needs to go, and a commitment to the New needs to be embraced.  Let’s never forget that the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory!  It can do that because the righteousness it ministers is God’s very own righteousness, which belongs to us only in Christ Jesus.  It will never be administered to us through the law in any measure.  It is a righteousness made ours through faith in Christ alone.

It is the pathway to experiencing the glory of God in ever-increasing measure!  Christ, the hope of glory!  There’s no other way!  Jesus is it!  Worthy is the Lamb!

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Captivated Cont’d

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s concentrate on verse 19 for a moment.  What is it that Paul wants us to know?  The love of Christ!  A love so great it cannot be naturally comprehended.  But when it is realized by the spirit within, and it washes through our souls, it is felt naturally as the fullness of God fills up to overflowing measure!

Now to Him!  He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think!  What does He do this exceedingly abundantly above and beyond according to?  The power that works in us when we are filled with all the fullness of God because of knowing the love of Christ!  To Him be glory! Where?  In the church!

There’s no one and nothing that can compare to Him!  There’s no pet teaching or preferred promise that outshines Him!  He is the fulfillment of it all!  The promises mean nothing without Him!  Pursue Him, and you get it all.

Too many preachers today point to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and fail to point to Jesus.  We need Him!

The Holy Spirit wants to cultivate a deep love, admiration, and reverence for Jesus that is rooted in the knowledge of His goodness and love.

The Holy Spirit wants to pull back any veil covering our view of Jesus so we might see that His value and worth exceeds everything else.

The Holy Spirit leads us to be captivated by Jesus!  He’s stirring hearts to be again set ablaze with love and reverence for the Son of God who gave Himself for us.

All eyes on Jesus can unite believers quicker and more effectively than anything else.  “Looking unto Him!  The Author and the Finisher of our faith.”   

Heaven is enthralled and captivated by Jesus, and the church is also meant to be.  Are you captivated by Jesus?  Are you convinced of His love that exceeds your natural ability to comprehend?  I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to wash your soul with this wonderful truth.

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Captivated

Let’s face it: it can be difficult to say the right thing when the heart isn’t into it. But when the heart is captivated, we find words that ascribe value and worth.  This is found in Scripture.

Song of Solomon 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.  2  Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. 3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons.  I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.  4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. 5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick.

Wow!  That’s some captivation there.  Who is the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valleys?  Jesus!

When we look at this from a prophetic context, it means Jesus is saying.  “So is my love among the daughters,”

He says that the bride in His eyes is like a lily among thorns when among the daughters.  He’s saying, next to all others, my love is beautiful beyond compare.  It’s the heart of Jesus towards His bride, the church.

Then, the bride, who represents the church, responds with her comment regarding Him.  But you’ll notice she is majorly captivated by Him.  She finds many words to describe His worth and value to her.  She likens Him to an apple tree among the many trees of the woods.

In other words, all other trees are ordinary compared to Him.  He appears among others but stands out in her eyes.  She did not sit in the shade of the other trees but instead in the shade of His tree.  In other words, she draws near to Him, not the other trees.

The fact that the bride can sit under the shade of Him as a tree indicates that He is fully grown and healthy.  This prophetically represents His protection and care.  Sitting under His shade is entering into rest.  Hebrews 3 & 4.

Notice how the bride not only sat under His shade with great delight but also partook of His fruit and found it to be sweet to her taste.  Eating fruit denotes direct encounter and experience.  In other words, she is coming away from the experience of Him with a sense of His goodness.

But there’s more to this story!  He brought her to His banqueting house (the real New Covenant Church Gathering where an experience of His presence is tangible). His banner (Represents His declaration) over her was love!  He sustains her with cakes and refreshes her with apples.  She is lovesick! (Captivated!)

When is the bride lovesick?  When she is sustained with cakes (Truth) and refreshed with apples (The Spirit).  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and grace and truth came through Him.  There’s something amazingly powerful about being captivated by Jesus as opposed to many other things.  Even a good thing can be a robber of the best.  Don’t get ripped off by being distracted away from looking unto Jesus.  He is all anyone needs.

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Relational Memory Loss

In November 2023, my wife and I will celebrate 37 years of marriage.  We both serve each other in special ways.  It is a part of our married life together.  But our service flows out of our love for each other.  We know this to be true because we still enjoy each other’s company and the discovery of thoughts we each possess individually on different topics, and there is romance in our relationship.  We like being together, doing things together, and sharing things together.

I’ve never been tempted to notice a good, hard-working employee and assume they love their boss.  Their work ethic does not indicate they love their boss. In fact, they may like their boss much at all and yet be a good employee due to a work ethic and a need to draw a paycheck.  The service they give may not have anything at all to do with love.

This can be true of believers in Jesus.

Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

There’s nothing indicated here of the gathering being abandoned, no hint of a loss of diligence in speaking out against evil and taking a stand against it.  Seems to be a faithful continuing practice of doing things for God.  There’s even a keen, effective practice in discerning true and false apostles.  Add to that the testimony of having endured some things, exhibited patience, and labored for Jesus without growing weary, and it sounds like the ultimate Christian.

But Jesus sees into the heart of the matter.  Jesus is not characterized as being a critic.  He is anything but.  However, in this case, we find the glorified Jesus making it a point to draw attention to something near and dear to His heart.  Jesus has an affinity to first love.  Jesus has an affinity for vibrant, alive, and healthy relationship.

The quickest way to experience a loss of influence where it really matters is to lose sight of the importance of first love.

1John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

That’s right, Jesus loves us just as He did at the first.  There’s never any hint of His love diminishing over time, as He is never distracted by other things or too busy to remember His love for us.  I want to always bear in mind and in my heart the same love I experienced when I was first introduced to Him and captivated with awe by who He is and all He has done.

The idea of His presence in me is still exciting and feels very much like a special privilege.  The thought of His loving me still blows my mind and fills my heart.  To belong to Him is the greatest honor ever, and to know Him outweighs anything and everything else in life. His thoughts are intriguing, His wisdom worth taking time to discover, and His friendship worth taking time to seek out and grow in.  I encourage you to take time to hear and enjoy Him so that your love for Him stays strong and alive as it was at the first.  Revel in His undying love for you.  I promise He’ll never suffer from relational memory loss.

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Remember

Memory can be a funny thing sometimes.  For instance, all the perspectives of the memories of my dad cannot go beyond the age of eleven for me.  My memories of him are those of a child up to age eleven.  I was eleven when he died.  My older brothers’ memories have a few more years on them.  They were about to turn 15, 16, and 17 when we lost our dad. So, it can sometimes seem there are discrepancies between what I remember and what they remember.  Our memories are not contradictory, however. They are rooted in what our perspective would have been at the time, based on our ages and maturity.

At eleven, in my eyes, my dad was very tall and strong and treated me wonderfully.  He had just given me a bible for my birthday where he had written in it about how I would become a preacher and lead many.  At eleven, I had not been able to get to that stage where I tested his patience and invoked his anger like my teenage brothers did.  So my memories of him are mainly good and of him being larger than life.

One such memory was when I was one year from being eligible to play little league baseball, and my dad tried his best to get them to let me play on his team.  My youthful experience with him gave me pleasant memories of him.  I choose to remember the good things.

Like it or not, your memories from a  younger time will often center on the person you were depending on; they most likely will focus on who seems larger than life to you.

Even though perspectives are based on our level of maturity at a moment in time, it is important to remember some things as we walk with Christ through this life.  It is important to remember the love, care, grace, mercy, and help He supplied to us at the first.

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

What made this so important to be remembered by the believers at Ephesus?  I think Paul knew that if they began to forget it, they would journey into a performance mentality that would rob them of the power of walking according to the Spirit with thanksgiving.   I believe Paul knew that if they failed to remember, they risked losing their identity and love for Christ.

Losing touch with how we entered the kingdom by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ can be a dangerous path.  We would do well to heed the advice given in Scripture.

Colossians 2:6&7 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,  rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

When we remember and regain our sense of the gift really being a gift, we cultivate gratitude, and in response to that, we give thanks.  Being thankful for the right reasons is healthy and strengthening in our walk with Jesus. The way to know you are remembering right is by the fruit of gratitude and the desire to give thanks. I encourage you today to remember and allow it to lead you into thanksgiving towards God.

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Sons Of God

Have you ever thought seriously about what it means to be a son of the Living God?

Just what does that mean?  What things are affected by it?  What privileges come with it?  How did you become a son?  Are girls sons, too?

Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Obeying the law cannot make someone a son of God.  Self-righteousness will not make a son of God because you cannot behave your way into sonship.

Sonship is a birthright, not a behave-right.  You must be born again to become a son.

You must be born of the Spirit!  There’s no natural pathway into sonship because it is a supernatural birth that makes such a thing possible.  Jesus did not give His life on the cross merely to make servants.  It goes much further than that.

It is important to remember that a person in Christ is there through a supernatural birth by the power of the Spirit.  If it can be forgotten or reduced to something ordinary, then the rest of one’s journey becomes at risk of being reduced to merely natural things.  One can lose sight of how supernaturally they were brought into the kingdom and made a son.

Colossians 2:4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

To lose sight of who you are in Christ is to lose your identity.  To forget you are a son by supernatural birthright is to forget who you are, and inevitably, you will end up living according to the natural and perhaps even follow the course you were on before coming to know Christ.

Forgetting your supernatural birthright can lead you to fall prey to cunning and divisive arguments that go against anything supernatural and lead you to put your confidence in your flesh.  It can open you up to thinking that the traditions of men are where spirituality is—things based on this world’s basic principles as opposed to Christ’s supernatural work.

I encourage you today to remember your supernatural entrance into His kingdom, remember your spiritual birthright made possible by Jesus bleeding on the cross to pay for past, present, and future sins, and you believed it to be true.  Go back to what you did to receive Him and walk in that today and always.  Sonship is based on faith in Jesus, and the certification of it is being born again by the Spirit, not by the works of the law.

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Deep Yearning

Certain situations in my life produce deep yearnings within me.  These yearnings lead me into strong intercession in prayer.  I strongly desire to see a particular outcome when I have a deep yearning.  But a deep yearning can be a blessing or potentially a challenge to me based on how I handle it.

Deep yearnings require me to put my faith and trust in God for the outcome.  This can create a challenge for me.  I can desire the outcome of my deep yearning so badly that I hurry to obtain it.  When that happens, and I choose to give in to the impatience, I can set out to make something happen in the strength of my flesh instead of waiting and relying on the Holy Spirit to bring it to pass.  I have had the experience of disappointment as a result of being in a hurry.

There’s nothing wrong with a deep yearning for God to intervene in a situation involving myself or another person or for the fulfillment of a promise from God.  That can be a wonderful thing meant to bring me before the Lord for His mercy to help.  But if I let it consume me to the point that I get in a hurry about it being fulfilled, I can cause many problems for myself and others.

This is shown to us in the Bible through the lives of Sarah and Abraham.  God had given a promise—a son who would be an heir.

Sarah was old as was Abraham, and time had passed since the promise had been given, and the deep yearning for its fulfillment was increasing all the while.  Sarah concocted a way to see it fulfilled so that the yearning could be satisfied.  She came up with an idea rooted in her finite wisdom and presented it to Abraham.

Neither she nor Abraham submitted her idea to the Lord.  They simply ran with it.  They chose to fulfill the promise of God in their way, and they talked enough about it to convince themselves that it might be God’s way of doing it.  So Sarah gave her handmaid to Abraham so he might have a son through her.  It produced a son, all right.  He was named Ishmael.  But Ishmael was not God’s idea.  Ishmael was not the promised son God had in mind.  So Ishmael could not rid Abraham of the deep yearning for the fulfillment of the promise. Ishmael brought satisfaction on some level to Abraham, but he could not be the answer to the deep yearning produced by the promise.

Later, once the real promise came forth in the son Sarah herself gave birth to and named Isaac, Ishmael and his mother Hagar became a problem.  Hagar and Ishmael held Sarah and Isaac in contempt and caused tension in the camp, and thus Abraham had his heart broken when he had to send Hagar and Ishmael away into the wilderness.  You see, Hagar and Ishmael could not be allowed to continue to remain in the camp due to the conflict it created for them to be there.  They would always compete with the promised son and the favored wife.

If you can see and hear it, this story is meant to demonstrate why the Law can not remain in place as a means of righteousness for a believer in Jesus.  In New Covenant understanding, reliance upon the Holy Spirit becomes the way for the believer in Christ.  A person may have a deep yearning to be right with God and thus have a strong loyalty to the law, thinking it is the means of fulfilling the promise of being made right with God.  But it is not the way.  Jesus is the promised Son, and He alone is the fulfillment of this promise that has produced such a strong, deep yearning in so many.  Trying to fulfill the promise of being made right and kept right with God through any other means, no matter how good it may seem, is an imposter solution that can never truly satisfy the deep yearning.  All our deep yearnings need God’s solution without being tainted by our own ideas or recommendations for obtaining it quicker.

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Choices

I have observed that many exhibit the ability to have short memories regarding choices and the outcomes they bring into life.

Recently, my wife was in an auto accident that was not her fault, and thankfully, she was not injured.  She was sitting at a stop sign well back from the line of stop.  A woman was turning onto the street my wife was stopped on.  My wife noticed the woman was constantly looking into her rearview mirror as she was making her turn and, as a result, turned too sharply and hit our car.  The lady explained she had almost been hit at that intersection by someone not paying attention.  Because of that one-time experience, she behaved differently when turning and turned way too sharp.  Her memory of a prior incident led her to behave differently at that intersection than normally.  It hurried her into the turn without looking ahead and checking her surroundings.  She was fixed on looking backward while trying to go forward.

Whether or not she will remember the consequences of her choice and the lesson it can teach her depends on what she remembers about it.  Often, a person can go away from the consequence of a bad choice without even recognizing it is the result of their choice.  Many times, others get blamed for an outcome that is a direct result of a poor choice on the part of a person who is claiming to be a victim.  When someone suffering from a poor choice claims victimization, they cannot see the effect of their choice and thus cannot learn from it.  This is what I mean when I refer to a short memory regarding choices.

Choices are a powerful thing.

Jesus spoke about the power of choice in a parable in Luke 14 when he was invited to a ruler of the Pharisee’s home to eat bread during the Sabbath.  Jesus was being watched closely by all present.

A man was there in front of Jesus who had dropsy.  Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees present if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.  Jesus knew He had a choice to make regarding this man’s need in front of Him.  Jesus also knew the potential consequences of His choice.

Naturally, Jesus healed the man.  Then, after He had healed the man, Jesus gave a lesson on choices.  Jesus paid attention to the lawyer’s and Pharisees’ choices regarding where they sat at the dinner.  They had chosen the best places.  Jesus spoke of them possibly being invited to a wedding feast.  He told them not to sit in the best place because a man more honored than them may arrive and force the host to come to them and ask them to move and make room for the more honored guest.  That would produce a consequence of shame on their part.  Instead, Jesus said, sit down in the lowest place.  That way, the host can come to you and ask you to move to a better place, and you will be honored in front of all present.

By giving this instruction regarding the choice to humble oneself, Jesus demonstrates the power of choice—especially the choice of humbling oneself in any situation.

The path of humility will always produce a greater reward than a path of arrogance rooted in self-importance or selfish ambition.  Jesus chose to do something that could bless a man who had a need that was obvious to all.  Jesus’ choice was rooted in humility with a desire to bring blessing and offer the gift of wisdom.

Jesus’ humility and submission to His Father led Him to choose the opportunity of being a blessing.  Today, there will be many opportunities for us to make choices.  I encourage you to let Jesus, who lives in you, help you make choices with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  It will set up a better harvest for you and bless others.  This always starts with choosing to be Christ-conscious and others-minded.

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Put On

Every Morning there’s a point that I put on my clothes to start the day. I would not dare go out without being properly dressed.

It is important to put on the right clothes.  If I have a meeting, I dress differently than I would if I went on a walk and then to the gym to exercise.  I dress differently if I am going to mow, work on a car, or do some other type of messy job than I would if I were going to church.  I dress according to purpose.

I do not wear my good clothes to do messy work, and I do not wear messy clothes when I am going to be with people and desire to make a good first impression.  The point is that I put on according to purpose.

Jesus spoke a parable.

Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

If the man had been adorned in the proper garment, he would have been okay, but he was cast out because he lacked the proper attire.  Of course, this is speaking of how the man was not born again and, therefore, did not have the proper garments to start with.  But it also reveals the benefit of appropriate raiment according to context.

It is wise to put on according to context, which is also true regarding spiritual things.

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Verse 24 says it so clearly.  Put on the new man.  What is that verse saying to us?

We’re being told to let the new man be what others see in our decisions and actions.  When our outward behavior is in step with the new man we have become in Christ, we are properly adorned.  When that is not the case, it is akin to someone showing up at a formal wedding in droopy basketball shorts, flip flops, and a ratty tee shirt, unshaven and unkempt.  They stick out like a sore thumb for not-so-good reasons.  They are out of place and out of context.

A believer in Christ will also stick out oddly when they behave as though they are not in Christ because they refuse to be adorned with the new man.  They may claim to be in Christ, but their behavior fails to offer any convincing proof due to being contrary to what they claim to be true.  It results in causing others to struggle to be convinced.  This is why Paul said,

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Putting on the new man is an important part of our effective witness to others. I encourage you today to put on!

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Soul And Spirit

I was a mess when Jesus rescued me in my very early twenties.  He had much soul work to do on me.  There’s still soul work being done on me.  Thankfully, my spirit man is being renewed day by day within.

In the gospels, we read how Jesus said to His disciples and especially Peter,

Matthew 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

It wasn’t long after that exchange that Peter cut the ear off one of the guards that had come to arrest Jesus, and Jesus had to do a miracle and put the ear back on the man and tell Peter to put away his sword.

Peter was dealing with the situation as he had learned according to his ways before knowing Jesus.  His soul was not yet on board in this situation with the Spirit.  Like all of us, Peter had some soul catch-up to do.

It is God’s desire that the whole of us be preserved blameless until the coming of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Father does not just care about our spirit.  He cares about the whole person, body, soul, and spirit.  This is why allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us to think differently in our souls and to act differently in our bodies is important.  This is especially important for those of us who minister the word of God to others.

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

This work of the soul is often referred to as character building.  It can be difficult for my body to respond correctly if my soul thinks incorrectly about a situation.  My soul is like the steering wheel of my body.  I need to be washing my soul with the truth of the word of God for this reason.  This is made clearer in,

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

I am still learning what it means to live out of the righteousness I have been made already in Christ.  Thankfully, whenever I miss the mark, there is grace at the throne of grace for me, and I do not need to be stuck in an emotional prison of failure.  I get to keep going and learn from any mistakes I may make.  But if I refuse to learn and grow and allow the word of God to wash my mind and refresh my soul, I am destined to repeat the very thing I just regretted so badly and which likely produced undesirable consequences in my life that I would have much rather avoided.

The point of all this is that getting my soul and spirit in sync is of great importance, and to do that, I need His word much more than just what one can get in a single Sunday service.  I encourage you to take His word seriously and engage it every day.  The whole you needs it more than you may realize.  Without it, we are left with whatever emotions, reasoning, and responses our affected soul and body have to offer.  That is not always the best.

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The Hope Of The Gospel

When I am trying to help someone discern the difference between old covenant thinking and new covenant thinking, I use an example involving the presence of God.

If, for some reason, my life gets busy one day and it interferes with my ability to set aside a morning time with God, do I feel as if He is distant now?  If I feel that my failure to get alone with Him that morning means He has pulled Himself away, I am not thinking in a New Covenant way.

God’s presence in my life is established forever, not by anything I do or do not do.  It is established based on what Christ has done.

There’s New Covenant Scripture that can help us with this idea.

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I was once alienated and an enemy of God.  The evidence of that was visible to others by the life I lived so selfishly.  But in His mercy, He came to me and reconciled me.  He did this when Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay for past, present, and future sins to reconcile me to God through His body, not mine.  This is literally saying that this work of reconciliation, which makes the presence of God available in my life, was done by Jesus through His flesh when He died.

What was done?

He reconciled me and presented me holy, blameless, and above reproach!  Where?  In His sight!  Jesus in me made me the righteousness of God!  I am righteous now, not by anything I have done to become righteous but by what He did to make me so.

This brings Paul to offer a serious admonishment regarding this truth.  He says, “If you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.”  I’m not to be looking for this solution anywhere else.

In other words, I need to do as Colossians 2 encourages me to do.

Colossians 2:6  As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Old Covenant thinking wants to make righteousness and the presence of God about what we do to merit it, whereas the New Covenant makes it about what Christ did to make it our continual reality.  If Christ lives in me and I am filled with the Holy Spirit, how is it possible to be away from the presence of God?  When spirituality is reduced to methods and means apart from Christ, it moves a person away from true New Covenant reality and faith into self-derived merits to sense God’s presence.  It strips a person of the hope of the Gospel and places them in a performance-based lifestyle that is a roller coaster ride of disappointment and exasperation.  Always wondering about whether or not enough has been done to please God, although Scripture says He is pleased by our faith.  Faith in Christ pleases God.

I encourage you today to remain in the hope of the Gospel now and always!

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No Flesh Should Glory

My youngest son, when he was a little boy, had had a dream that seemed real to him.  He spoke of having been at his mother’s and my wedding.  We laughed about it and then helped him to understand that he had seen pictures of our wedding and dreamed of such a thing, but it was impossible that he could have been at our wedding.

Sometimes, our minds can imagine things so vividly that they are perceived as real.  Not every perception can be trusted.

What would you think if I were to tell a story that claimed that before I was conceived, I willed to be born?  I would be worried about you if you didn’t think that claim was absurd.

If I were to try to take credit for my natural birth in any way, you would be justified in thinking of me as being deceived.

This statement of no flesh should glory can trip someone up if they do not understand the point of it.  It is a statement dealing with something similar to what I have already been discussing.  Perceptions that seem real to someone but just cannot be.

The statement is found in the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

It is positioned in such a way as to diminish the idea that anyone should even attempt to think they had anything to do with their salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:26  For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

God did the choosing in this case, not us.  We did not choose ourselves for this amazingly wonderful gift.  We did not qualify ourselves for it either.  God chose us on purpose for a reason. He did not choose us because we were all that and a bag of chips.  He chose us when we were nothing, spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses.  He did this to bring to nothing the things that are.  In other words, to end any boasting on anyone’s part of having merited being selected.  If we read further the Scripture about this, we discover why.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

The point is to take out of the way any boasting in ourselves and instead replace it with giving glory and honor to Jesus!  It is designed to spotlight Christ in our lives so that He might receive the glory, honor, and praise for our salvation, acceptance, redemption, and life change.

My belonging to Jesus had nothing to do with me being smart enough to choose Him.  I was not wise.  It had nothing to do with my pedigree in the natural. I did not have one to start with.  By bringing someone foolish like me to Christ, he shames the wise in this world who trust in their wisdom and cannot seem to get it.  By choosing a weak-willed person such as myself, he shames the strong-willed, self-made people who think they can get it done with their strength and willpower.  He chose me!  He saved me!  It was all by grace; even the faith I employed to turn to Christ was His gift.  I can only boast in Jesus and the love of the Father!

All glory to Jesus!  All praise to the Father!  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening my eyes, heart, and understanding when You made me alive in Christ!  I have nothing for which to boast in, in myself, and I glory in Christ, who has placed me continually in Your presence, Father.

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Subtle Shift

There is a way to say things that can shift the focus and give credit to oneself rather than keep it where it should be.

There is also a way to ensure the focus and credit remain where they should be.

For instance, Peter and John one day were going up to the temple to pray and encountered a lame man who had been there begging most all of his life.  Peter told him that silver and gold he did not have, but what he did have, he would give to him and then commanded the man to rise and walk.  The man was instantly healed and ran and leaped and went into the temple, leaping and praising. Everyone knew the man well and was amazed.  Then the man went to Peter and John and held on to them. I interpret that to mean he was hugging them.

At this point, Peter could have launched his ministry and increased his influence tremendously by speaking of his healing ministry.  But it’s interesting to see how Peter handled this sudden increase in attention.

Acts 3:11   Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Peter gave the credit where the credit was due and kept the focus where it needed to be kept.

Peter did not yield to the temptation of a subtle shift in focus or credit to advance his ministry brand and increase his popularity for greater ministry opportunities.  Peter was convinced it was not by his power that the lame man was healed.  Peter was convinced it was Jesus who healed the man.  So, it was the easiest thing for Peter to credit Jesus with the miracle and then draw the attention of those listening to Jesus and the importance of believing in Him.

I have no power to heal anyone, raise anyone from the dead, do any type of miracle, or operate in a gift of the Spirit.  But the One living in me has power, and the Holy Spirit who dwells in me has power.  So when I see someone healed or someone receives a miracle, or I am used for a spiritual gift of any kind, I know it is not me. It is Him.  Therefore, it is simple to give Him the credit for what happens.

Anything good I do is credited to Jesus Christ, who made me new by giving me new life in Him.  Anything wonderful I get to participate in supernaturally is credited to the Holy Spirit, who is operating to make Christ known and bring people to realize the goodness of God manifest in Christ.  I desire always to be as Peter was in that moment.  Able to resist the temptation for ministry promotion, give credit to whom it is truly due, and turn the focus to Him, who gave everything to bring salvation and hope.  Jesus is the only one worthy of receiving praise!

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Boasting In The Lord

BOAST - verb- talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities:  noun - an act of talking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction

There can be a certain measure of satisfaction in speaking of one’s achievements in life.  It is especially gratifying to make comparisons and feel like one is coming out on top in such a situation.

When I was a boy, about ten years of age, I could ride a wheelie around the block on my ten-speed bike and change gears while doing so.  I boasted of such an accomplishment as a boy.  As a boy, I was also a pretty good baseball player, earning MVP one year.  I boasted about that as well.

There have been many things for which I would boast through the years.  But there are plenty of things for which I cannot boast.  My salvation and relationship with God is a major one.

I had nothing to do with my salvation, and I do nothing that adds to it or helps maintain it.  It is all of Him, and it is all based on the obedience of Jesus Christ.  My relationship with God and my ability to refer to Him as my Father is all because of Jesus, and I make my boast in Christ.  I find it healthy to be often reminded of such a truth.

Ephesians 2:4   But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Any desire and effort in good work that I do now in life is attributed to the creative work of Christ.  Jesus made me a new creation, and because of Jesus, I am seated in the heavenly places with Him; I am evidence of the incredible great mercy of God and exceeding riches of His grace by His kindness towards me simply because I am in Christ.  There’s no other reason for the kindness of God towards me.  I did nothing to earn it.  I cannot do anything to advance it or to increase it.  His kindness towards me is fixed based on Christ Jesus, and therefore, I make my boast in Christ!

I do not base anything positive in my relationship with God on what I do for Him.  I have learned that the credit for goodness, kindness, mercy, and grace belongs to Jesus alone.  I am happy to give Him all the glory for my amazing blessing in belonging to the Father through knowing Jesus and being made new in Christ.  This gift of revelation from the Holy Spirit maintains my constant closeness to Him and my awareness of His presence in my life.  It is all because of Jesus!  To Jesus be all the praise!

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Power That Works

Fall is approaching, which means less daylight.  Thankfully, I can have power at home that allows me to flip up a switch on my wall and light up a room even when it is dark outside.

It is a manmade power that works and that we heavily rely on.  It is a power that brings possibility and opportunity.  It enables us to use tools that equip us to build things or repair things.  Tools designed to help us in our day-to-day affairs.

When that power goes away, we find ourselves at a loss as to what to do.  How will we cook, clean, shower, or bathe without the things that power provides us with?  Whenever there is a power outage, people contact the source of their power in great numbers to make them aware that they have lost their power because that is how important having power is.

No one makes someone talking about their need for this kind of power in life feel stupid for speaking about it.  No one criticizes a person for being thankful for this power in life. I’d bet you could get all your neighbors on board with appreciating the fact that they have this kind of power so readily available, and likewise, I’d bet they will be in unity with you about making someone aware whenever it is lost in your neighborhood.

Interestingly, usually, when power is lost, it is not the fault of the source for it.  It generally is because something happened to the means of transmitting it.  A tree falls on a transmission line, a car wreck takes out a power pole, or lightning strikes a transformer.  Something happened to interfere with the flow of the power and interrupt it.  Such a problem needs to be fixed before power is restored.  The source of power goes right to work doing what is needed on their part to see it restored.

This natural phenomenon of power that works reveals to me that power matters.  This is true as well in the supernatural.  A power that works matters.  There is a power at work in those who belong to Christ!

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

There is a power at work in a believer in Jesus that is meant to activate based on asking and thinking.  When a believer in Jesus is inclined to bring a request to God, it activates a power within far greater than the level of power needed for the request.  Whenever a believer is moved in their imagination about something, it activates a power far greater than what is needed to see the thing imagined brought into reality.

I can plug up multiple devices in my house and not be concerned with whether or not there will be enough electricity to supply the demand.  The same is true when it comes to my walk with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit dwelling in me is all-powerful, and cannot experience a depletion in His power just because I asked for something or imagined something.

If you belong to Jesus, you have a power that works in you!  I encourage you to tap into that power daily.

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You Have What It Takes 3.0

You have what it takes not because of who you are and what you can do in the power of your flesh but because of who Christ is!

John 1:2 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:  13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Being born again has nothing to do with our will or our own power.  It has everything to do with the will of God and the power of God.

Once you become born again, you have what it takes!

We just read of how Jesus was full of grace and truth.  Jesus was full of something!  You are full of something, too!

John 1:16 From his fullness, we all received grace upon grace.

You are full of His fullness!  Whatever He was full of, you now are full of.  You have received grace upon grace!

God gave you favor to receive favor!  How can that be improved on by any attempt in the flesh?

When we stand in the confidence of the finished work of Christ, we partake of His fullness, and it brings forth the fruit of grace at work in us.  In Christ, you have what it takes!

1John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.  17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

As He is, so are we in this world!  As He is present tense.  He is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High, delighting in the glory He had with His Father before the world began.  There’s no separation between Him and His Father.  We are to walk in His fullness while on this earth, enjoying the benefits of acceptance and deep relationship with the Father because of our position in Christ.

Jesus gave His life to bring us into the joy of knowing the Father and being in union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus enjoys such unity and connection with the Godhead.  It was His prayer in John 17 that we might be one just as He was one.  It was a prayer of experiencing oneness with God just as Jesus had oneness.  It was a prayer for a deep relationship and all the benefits that come with it.  The odds were stacked in our favor when we came to Jesus!

You have what it takes, and to fully enjoy that reality that is already yours in Christ, you must believe it and take advantage of the privileges of relationship it promises to you.  You already have everything you need pertaining to life and godliness in Christ.  You have what it takes!

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Tainted Grace

When we speak of something being tainted, we think of it being marred or distorted from what it is meant to be in its purity.

If I were to purchase a work of art by a master of art and then begin to paint on it as if to improve it, I would be tainting it; it would be considered marred and lacking its original beauty for which it was most appreciated.

So, it is when grace is not allowed to manifest according to its purity and beauty.

One of the clearest manifestations of grace is a thankful heart.  When it is understood and believed that it is by grace that we were redeemed and given favor with God, we have nothing by which to boast and are eternally grateful for the generosity of God in making this blessing a reality to us through Jesus Christ.

A hidden gratitude is no gratitude at all.  The truly grateful is not ashamed of giving credit where credit is due.

There is a line in a movie where the character comes into an office meeting after being on a date with a woman he had been pursuing, and he declares to everyone that he is in love, he is in love, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

When the heart is deeply affected by a right belief, it expresses gratitude and delight.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Complaining, grumbling, a lack of gratitude, discontentment, discord, and a lack of peace taint the expression of grace.  They have nothing to do with the fruits of grace.

Grace cannot be modeled to others by criticisms. Complaining and always being upset over something.  Trying to disguise a lack of peace behind a false claim of righteous indignation cannot manifest grace.

One of the clearest ways of manifesting the work of grace is by being thankful.  Finding what is good, hopeful, and according to His promises by opening up our eyes to His eternal presence with us can produce a grateful heart that manifests His grace.  Living in the knowledge of His unearned favor can create the fruit of peace in us and manifest His grace alive and active in us.  If we know our performance did not merit our favor with Him to start with, we can know it is not our performance that will keep us in the place of favor.  Knowing this, according to faith, gives birth to peace and produces a grateful heart within us.

I encourage you today to remind your soul of the great benefits you have in Christ and allow grace to shine through you, pure and untainted.

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